Slogan of the hood production workshop

The sudden outbreak of COVID-19 disrupted the normal start of 2020. Since the new crown pneumonia epidemic raged, with the continuous development of epidemic prevention work, Wuhan, an epidemic area, and even many parts of the country are facing a very serious shortage of medical materials, and masks were once in a state of extreme shortage. In the face of the epidemic, many car companies have shown a strong sense of social responsibility.

Recently, with the formal mass production of Chang 'an brand masks, four car companies including BYD, SAIC-GM-Wuling and Guangzhou Automobile Group have started to produce masks. As for the masks produced by automobile manufacturers, some friends think amateurs join in the fun, while others think that the masks produced by automobile manufacturers are reliable.

For the questions of friends, I am here to tell you that mask production is a piece of cake for car companies. For the manufacturing industry, products are nothing more than raw materials, venues, manufacturing processes and qualifications.

1 raw materials

Medical surgical masks and N95 masks generally adopt multi-layer structure, referred to as SMS structure: single-layer spunbonded layer (S) inside and outside, and meltblown layer (M) in the middle. In terms of materials, both the spunbonded layer (S) and the meltblown layer (M) belong to non-woven fabrics, and the raw material is polypropylene. However, their manufacturing processes are different, and the fiber diameter of the inner and outer spunbonded layers is relatively thick, about 20 microns; The fiber diameter of the middle meltblown layer is only 2 microns, and it is made of polypropylene material with high melt index fiber.

Similarly, the sound-absorbing cotton on the car is divided into three layers. The first and last layers are polypropylene fiber nonwovens, which belong to polypropylene melt-blown nonwovens in essence. In other words, in the long-term supply chain of automobile enterprises, companies that produce polymer materials such as NVH soundproof cotton can solve the key raw material problems in mask production.

2. Venue

Under the condition that raw materials are guaranteed, the "hard index" of mask production needs a high-grade dust-free environment, which is not a problem for car companies, because the "painting workshop" is one of the four major workshops of automobiles. In the process of vehicle painting, if dust falls on the car body, it will be clearly seen, so the car companies have extremely high requirements for the "dust-free environment" in the painting process.

3. Manufacturing process

First of all, automobile manufacturing can be said to be the most complicated industrial product manufacturing in the world, so the production of masks is like nine Niu Yi hairs for automobile companies. Why do you say that?

Taking the medical surgical mask as an example, its structure is simple, and it mainly consists of three layers: melt-blown non-woven fabric, mask belt and metal layering. What mask manufacturers need to do is to assemble these three parts, then sterilize them and let them stand. In contrast, a car is made up of thousands of parts, and it is incomparable for mask manufacturers to pick up a link casually in the manufacturing process of automobile factories. With these powerful hardware support, do you think it will be complicated for car companies to produce masks? Just a little effort.

4. Qualifications

Everything is ready, which does not mean that masks can be produced, but there is still an "east wind". According to the Classified Catalogue of Medical Devices, medical masks belong to the national second-class medical devices. In other words, enterprises engaged in the production of medical masks need to obtain medical device production licenses and medical device registration certificates. With regard to qualifications, there are currently more than 20,000 enterprises related to the mask industry chain in China, but only 353 enterprises have medical mask production licenses. Formal procedures, starting with product registration, inspection and inspection, are free clinical products. It usually takes 1 to 1.5 years to apply for a medical device registration certificate. If clinical trials are needed, it will take 1.5 to 3 years or even longer depending on product differences. In addition, considering overcapacity, the government generally does not approve new mask manufacturers. Considering the special period, local governments have set up "green channels" within the controllable range. For car companies with mature manufacturing conditions, it will obviously save more time in the approval process.

To sum up, the production of masks by car companies not only has sufficient production conditions, but also has strong quality assurance. Therefore, car companies are not amateurs, and masks are of course reliable. Having said that, I believe that many small partners will think of car companies that produce masks. Is it "business"?

For enterprises, of course, it is profit that maintains the operation and development of the company, but now there are more and more enterprises that do not simply seek profit, especially those with huge volume, which have long been closely related to the development of society. In addition to the increase in profits, these enterprises are also the cornerstone of social stability.

"Wuling" brand mask is the pioneer, the ninth part of BYD Electronics Group, followed by Guangzhou Automobile Group, and the "Chang 'an" brand mask. When the epidemic is raging, we can see that these car companies can transform their production lines at no cost and give priority to the production of masks. These car manufacturers who produce masks can use their own advantages and capabilities to quickly solve the material shortage problem during the current epidemic. They not only show the powerful "Made in China", but also reflect the social responsibility of car companies.

In the critical period of the current "epidemic" of the * * * war, more and more car companies are not focusing on costs and profits, and actively turn around and join in this "epidemic" of the war without smoke, which deserves our respect. With the help of all the people in China who are in the same boat, we believe this difficulty will be overcome soon!

This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.